Creation and conception
When
Riichiro Inagaki and
Yusuke Murata was originally creating the
Eyeshield 21 series, Murata was concerned that each character had a quality that stand out as many of the characters are in groups.
[1]
Murata said that "due to their heavy protective gear, it would be very
difficult to identify personal characteristics in games" then decided to
become more engaged in their clothes, and stating "so the most work on
character designs are on their uniforms". For the main character Inagaki
said he "wanted to create a protagonist that was wimpy at the
beginning, yet could perform outstandingly in a sports game". During the
criation of the teams developed the thought that "each team has its own
style" and complemented by saying that "decide what kind of character
should appear in the story before assigning him a team".
[2]
Protagonists
The
Deimon Devil Bats (泥門デビルバッツ Deimon Debiru Battsu?) is a fictional
American football team in
Japan, composed of the protagonists of Eyeshield 21. The Deimon Devil Bats are the high school reincarnation of the Mao
(麻黄?) Devil Bats, which had only three members:
Yoichi Hiruma,
Ryokan Kurita, and Gen "Musashi" Takekura. After its inaugural year,
its membership was further reduced with the departure of Gen Takekura.
This remains the case until Hiruma discovers
Sena Kobayakawa and his amazing running ability.
Sena Kobayakawa
Sena Kobayakawa a.k.a. Eyeshield 21
(小早川 瀬那 Kobayakawa Sena?)
The main character of
Eyeshield 21.
Initially a bullied gopher, his speed was discovered by Hiruma as he
was literally forced into joining the football team at Deimon. While
insecure and clumsy at heart, Sena matures over the course of the series
as he soon grows to love the game he plays and becomes an accomplished
football player through his own strength and the guidance of his friends
and rivals. At different times throughout the anime and the manga, he
will often, through emotions, tap into the Speed of Light Pace, on the
cost of overtaxing himself. Over time, he is able to run the Speed of
Light Pace at will.
Yoichi Hiruma
Hiruma Yōichi (蛭魔 妖一?)
Main article:
Yoichi Hiruma
The twisted
quarterback
of the Devil Bats, who is more complex than his devilish face and
personality may suggest. He carries multiple firearms at all times and
often pulls them out at random in order to threaten others in a comical
flurry of bullets. Despite this front of a violent and dangerous
hoodlum, Hiruma is a genius in maverick trick plays and mind games, both
on and off the field. Along with Kurita and Musashi, he is one of the
founders of the Devil Bats. His skills as a quarterback are highly
recognized, even by Shin, including making passes with incredibly high
RPMs as well as executing extremely convincing play action fakes.
Because he has worked with a poor offensive line in his earlier days on
the team, he is very good at dodging and feinting incoming tacklers. His
specialty off the field is a combination of blackmail and mind games
along with a superior intellect, which has effectively allowed him to
take control of all of Deimon High, including the faculty.
Ryokan Kurita
Kurita Ryōkan (栗田 良寛?)
The largest and strongest player in the Deimon Devil Bats, Ryokan
Kurita is a kind-hearted individual, and the only thing bigger than his
body is his heart. He becomes Sena's second friend after entering Deimon
High School. He is somewhat dim-witted, nearly giving away Sena's
identity as Eyeshield 21, but is immediately silenced by Hiruma (in the
manga, he did it by electrocuting Kurita with a stun gun, whereas in the
anime, he simply did so by tossing the much-larger teammate
contradictory to Kurita's overall weight). When playing, Kurita shouts
his
kiai "Funnuraba!" (Here I come!) when exerting extra effort. His biggest dream is to compete in the Christmas Bowl.
Yusuke Murata,
artist of the series, said that Kurita is his favorite character;
Murata likes how Kurita's "zeal" for American football matches Murata's
passion for manga.
[3]
Taro Raimon
Raimon Tarō / Monta (雷門 太郎 / モン太?)
The primary wide receiver of the Deimon Devil Bats. Although he is
short in stature, he has remarkable skill in catching. He is observant,
recognizing Sena as Eyeshield 21 the first time he saw Eyeshield 21 in
person during a practice. Monta was originally a member of the baseball
team, where he was an effective fielder due to his intense focus on
catching. However, he was cursed with terrible throwing abilities,
making him fail to be on even the backup lineup for the club. When the
baseball team explained that they needed balanced players, Monta is
approached by Sena and decides to pursue his dream of becoming a master
catcher as a football player instead. He is best known for always going
into a pose after a catch while yelling "CATCH MAX!" He also adds "Max"
to nearly anything he describes while excited or determined. His
nickname is Monta, which was initially a mistake by Sena, but later
accepted when Hiruma tells Taro that the name "Monta" is a play on the
name
Joe Montana (though Hiruma later admits that was just a fib).
Other
Mamori Anezaki
Anezaki Mamori (姉崎 まもり?)
Sena's overprotective and motherly childhood friend (actually,
Mamori's name is meant to be a pun, as her name means protect). Mamori's
mother met Sena's mother in a cooking class, and Mamori and Sena have
been friends ever since. Her mother is half-Japanese, half-American
which makes Mamori 25% American and 75% Japanese. Mamori has been
protecting Sena from bullies since primary school, to the point that
Sena has grown up never having to stand up for himself. Mamori joined
the
American Football
club to watch over Sena and prevent any bullying by the other members
(particularly Hiruma). Despite her joining the American Football club
just to protect Sena, she eventually becomes an excellent manager who
knows the rules inside and out and makes up strategies for the team.
The Ha-Ha Brothers
- Kazuki Jumonji (十文字 一輝 Jūmonji Kazuki?)
- Koji Kuroki (黒木 浩二 Kuroki Kōji?)
- Shozo Togano (戸叶 庄三 Toganō Shōzō?)
Three bullies who initially bossed around Sena on their first day at
Deimon. They joined the team because of Hiruma's blackmailing. When they
try to get back at them, they are unexpectedly recruited to become
linemen for the football team, eventually sticking with the team to
prove their toughness both to their superiors as well as to their
opponents. They are notably poor and inexperienced at the game when they
start out, but their eagerness to prove themselves makes them train
vigorously and prove to be very capable linemen. Their nickname is from
their weird habit of expression, with each one of the trio saying
"Ha!?", progressively louder in sequence.
Manabu Yukimitsu
Yukimitsu Manabu (雪光 学?)
Yukimitsu is the bench player of the Deimon Devil Bats. He makes his first appearance after watching the Zokugaku vs Deimon
exhibition match. He has a big forehead with a prominent
widow's peak, which appears consistent with the first signs of
male pattern baldness.
He initially combs his hair back, emphasising this even more. His
mother wants him to be a studious person and makes him study from day
till night in addition to going to
cram school
(even his name means "learn"). Yukimitsu has missed many festivals and
games throughout his childhood and youth, and regrets it terribly. After
watching the match between Zokugaku and Deimon, he decides to join the
American Football
club to fulfill his dreams; to be a winner, to be part of a game,
rather than studying all day. He wanted to have sweet memories of his
high school that didn't have anything to do with studying, even if he
just played once.
Daikichi Komusubi
Komusubi Daikichi (小結 大吉?)
Komusubi is one of the linemen of the Deimon Devil Bats. His given
name of Daikichi means 'Good Fortune.' His father named him after he had
gotten a promotion after his son's birth. Though Daikichi is not very
fast nor tall, but he makes up for it with his indomitable will and
power. He decided to join the Devil Bats after seeing the Zokugaku
exhibition match.
Daikichi was highly impressed by Kurita's amazing strength and build,
and decided that he wanted to become Kurita's "apprentice". He was able
to join the team after surviving the Hell Tower qualifying test, beating
out the Ha-Ha Brothers. Komusubi has taken to bunking at Kurita's
house, and joining Kurita in waking up as early as 2 am to go training.
He does not talk much, and apparently speaks (and writes!) only in
"Power-Go," or the language of strong men, that only "truly strong men"
can understand, which consists mostly of strange grunts and one-word
sentences. It is still confusing as to how people like Komusubi's
father, Kurita, Deimon's gym teacher, Mizumachi, Gaō of Hakushu, and
some of the members of the Nasa Aliens team, can comprehend what he is
saying.
Suzuna Taki
Taki Suzuna (瀧 鈴音?)
Suzuna is a cute blue-haired girl who's always wearing rollerblades.
She came to the United States and hitched a ride with one of the bikers
of a bike gang. Sena first met her after he got lost halfway through the
Death March and was surrounded by a whole lot of American bikers - Sena
being Sena, he couldn't really communicate with them. However, one
biker mentioned the words 'Japanese girl', 'Football player', and
'Japan', and Sena assumed said biker was talking about Mamori, and
immediately went off in search of the aforementioned Japanese girl. The
'Japanese girl' term was actually referring to Suzuna, and 'Football
player' Natsuhiko, her brother. Suzuna was looking for her brother, and
in that same respect, met up with the 'Football player' assuming that it
was Natsuhiko. The bikers then assumed they were boyfriend and
girlfriend (cheering them on with "C'mon, hug! Kiss! Hug!"), but the
fact was that Suzuna and Sena were not in a relationship. She eventually
finds her brother and jumps and rolls her skates across his back while
still on her feet as punishment for taking the family savings to fly to
America. She also witnesses Sena in action as Eyeshield 21.
Later, Suzuna follows the team back to Japan after her brother
accepts Sena's offer to join the Devil Bats (he didn't get picked for
the American football team he was trying to enter). She then becomes a
cheerleader for the Devil Bats even though she's not from Deimon High
School.
Doburoku Sakaki
Sakaki Doburoku (酒奇 溝六?)
Doburoku Sakaki first appears during the Beach football match in the United States. He was a coach to
Hiruma,
Musashi, and
Kurita, and taught them how to play American football. Doburoku loves drinking
sake; he has many different
gourds, all of which look the same, but each contains a different kind of alcoholic beverage.
Natsuhiko Taki
Taki Natsuhiko (瀧 夏彦?)
A man with an odd and rather foolish attitude, and is apparently
quite oblivious to the silliness of his actions. He was first introduced
in the series when Sena met him in the San Antonio stadium (Natsuhiko
was trying out for the team there). He has a habit of opening his jacket
to bare his pecs, making weird poses like rising up his leg 180 degrees
and is often portrayed as a ladies-man. His dream is to become a pro
football star, even though he didn't know the rules, nor the positions,
stating that he was an all-around super player. He couldn't play
American Football in Japan; he wasn't qualified, so he went to America
to apply for a position in the San Antonio Team by taking all the
savings in his house to fly to America. He failed; however, the coach
did praise him on his potential and asked him to try out again after
gaining some experience in high school football. Sena passed the
pro-tryouts as Eyeshield 21, (though he and the Taki siblings left
before his name was announced). Sena, feeling sorry for him, sensed that
Natsuhiko had potential and that his talent shouldn't be wasted, asked
him to join the Devil Bats back in Japan as a
Tight End.
Gen "Musashi" Takekura
Gen "Musashi" Takekura a.k.a. The 60-yard Magnum
(武蔵 厳 / ムサシ Takekura Gen / Musashi?)
The place kicker for the Devil Bats and one of the original three
members of the team, along with Hiruma and Kurita. He is often mistaken
for an older person, since he initially has a bit of stubble and has a
buzz-cut. When he finally joins the team, he grows out his hair and
shaves. He leaves the team during the spring season of his freshman
year, because his father had become seriously ill. As a result, he was
forced to drop out of school and take over as the construction foreman
of Deimon High. Though he desperately wanted to get back into playing,
he refused to rejoin the Devil Bats. However, after meeting with Sena
and Monta and seeing how determined they are to get him back on the
team, he agrees, but only if they become a strong team.
